Hundreds gather as slain officer is laid to rest

Former Tri-State man killed in apparent ambush

Hundreds of people holding flags Thursday lined the streets of Bardstown and packed into a church for the emotional funeral of a police officer fatally shot on a highway exit ramp.

The casket of 33-year-old Jason Ellis was draped in an American flag for the 1 ½-hour service. At least a half-dozen speakers took to the podium at Parkway Baptist Church.

The crowd included Ellis' wife and two young sons as well as police officers from across Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.

Bardstown Police Chief Rick McCubbin told mourners that Ellis was a fun-loving jokester who dressed as an elf at a town Christmas party, and he was proud of his work taking drugs off the streets with his K-9 partner.

McCubbin told mourners Ellis "paid the ultimate sacrifice doing what he loved, being a police officer."

Ellis was shot to death early Saturday morning on his way home from work. Police say he got out of his cruiser to remove debris from the roadway when he was killed. An investigation is ongoing and there's a reward topping $100,000 for information.

As the funeral procession headed slowly toward High View Cemetery, young and old stood on the roadside and watched. Some had their hands over their hearts. Others held signs thanking Ellis for his service. A giant American flag hung between two fire-truck ladders in front of the police department. Outside the courthouse stood three judges in black robes.

Authorities are conducting an exhaustive investigation of Jason Ellis' homicide McCubbin said in a news conference before the services.

Police say the fatal shooting occurred when Ellis got out of his cruiser at a ramp on Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County. His slaying spurred an outpouring of grief in the town of about 12,000, about 40 miles southeast of Louisville.

Outside the Bardstown police station, a makeshift memorial featuring flags, candles, flowers and baseballs commemorating his time as a minor-league player sat in front of a police cruiser signed with messages.

One message read: "I love you. Mom."

Officials on Thursday announced that a reward fund in the case has surpassed $100,000 after two additional donations: $10,000 from the Nelson County Judge-Executive and Fiscal Court, and $50,000 from Louisville businessman Gus Goldsmith.

Goldsmith said he was motivated to make the donation because his brother was killed 38 years ago in a robbery at their store and the killer was never caught.

"I've felt their pain, and the pain of a lot of years of not finding the killer of my brother," said Goldsmith, who lives in Louisville, has no ties to Bardstown and did not know Ellis.

"I feel certain that someone out there knows a lot and just hasn't come to the table. And when the reward money is over $100,000 that's going to bring somebody that might tell on somebody that might make this case," Goldsmith said.An ambushed Kentucky police officer is being laid to rest, days after he was gunned down when he stopped to pick up road debris on his way home.

Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis is being remembered as a dedicated family man and officer.

Kentucky State Police say the former minor league baseball player turned lawman was shot multiple times after he exited his cruiser to pick up debris at a ramp off the Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County early Saturday. Investigators are asking for the public's help in finding suspects.

Ellis grew up in Batavia and is a Glen Este High School graduate.

Bardstown Police Chief Rick McCubbin says he thinks the 33-year-old Ellis was targeted in the ambush.

Ellis' widow, Amy Ellis, says her husband will be her lasting hero.

The Ellises have two young sons.

Timeline: Officer Jason Ellis ambushed, killed

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Bardstown Police Department

May 25, 2013: Just before 3 a.m. Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis stops at the Bluegrass Parkway Exit 34 to remove debris from the roadway